The Ten Greatest Promotional Products of All Time

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article | Promotional ProductIn the 150 years since the modern era of promotional marketing began almost every class of product has been custom branded. But some products have endured better than the rest. Here we list the ten all time greatest promotional merchandise ideas based on their ongoing popularity and return on investment. In the last 20 years the way we do business has changed more than it did in the previous 130 years however these classic promotional gift ideas are still as popular as ever and to this day still comprise majority of orders placed with promotional retailers. The list from 1 to 10 is based on distributor sales volumes reported in the USA and Australia but there is some variation in the order depending on location and the time of year. Cost effective and practical, these ten promo classics continue to deliver for marketers the world over.

1. Pens

Even in this day with companies pushing towards paperless offices the classic ballpoint pen is a must have business accessory. Even with multi-application mobile phones and electronic messaging systems the first option people reach for when looking to take a quick note or write down contact details is a ballpoint pen. Their universal popularity is supported by the vast range of styles and price points on offer. Custom pens range from cheap giveaways costing less than 20 cents through to engraved gift options produced by world famous brands. People will rarely dispose of a working promotional pen so your bargain offering could hold its place for years, keeping your branding visible and your message in place.

2. Coffee Mugs

Just about everyone starts the day with a cup of their favourite hot beverage and often their emotional stability is dependent on its effect. Placed on a desk top a branded coffee mug carries unmissable branding. The right mug will become a regular part of the recipient’s day. Again, like all the most popular categories above the range of mugs available includes something for every situation and promotional opportunity. Coffee consumption continues to grow across the world and as a result promotional mugs are here to stay.

3. Bags

Promotional bags combine basic utility with high level branding and the bag you give away today at a conference filled with discussion papers and catalogues can be used tomorrow for shopping or to carry sports gear for a workout at the gym. It’s no surprise that retails hand out custom printed bags to their customers. Next time you’re in any shopping precinct have a look around at the carry bags people use to transport their purchases. The branding is unmissable and often these bags have a life after their primary use. And of course there are many styles of bags, from simple printed paper bags through to high end promotional luggage, backpacks and briefcases all of which have a specific use and share the traditional advantages of utility and high branding visibility common to all products in the category.

4. Badges & Pins

As a simple and cost effective way to display your membership and support for an organisation, or alternatively to provide a thank you gift to supporters an sponsors custom made lapel pins and badges are hard to beat. Considered jewellery items by some people and with usable lives which can surpass that of the people organising their production lapel pins are both cost effective and highly sought after. There is even an active collector community of people who trade and collect lapel pins so your design could become a cherished possession which takes pride of place.

5. Drink Bottles

The fact we all need to drink, a lot more often than we need to eat is one of the reasons promotional drink bottles have such broad appeal. Combining large scale custom branding with a low unit price the range of custom printed bottle styles available extends all the way from simple plastic sports bottles through to the latest vacuum insulated bottles. For the education industry, local sports teams and as corporate gifts to staff promotional bottles also have a green edge as they can be refilled over and over avoiding the need to buy bottled water. These eco-friendly credentials along with the unmissable branding ensure that promotional drink bottles will continue to be popular as long as humanity need hydration.

6. Wristbands

Since Lance Armstrong’s “Livestrong” initiative the humble silicone wristband has become a recognised symbol of emotional support and has since been adopted by a multitude of organisations looking to produce cost-effective giveaways and rewards for sponsors and supporters. For community organisations with a limited budget wristbands have become popular and effective fundraising items. As their popularity has grown manufacturers have come to the party and the range of styles, sizes and shapes has grown to the point now that there are enough different wristband models available that every organisation can choose a style which will represent their message.

7. Stress Balls

While some marketers view stress balls with scepticism but the reality is they are compact, fun 3D models which bring out the kid in a recipient while actually delivering a therapeutic benefit. It’s also cost effective to produce your own custom shaped stress balls and many manufacturers have found there are few better ways to make their clients aware of a new product offering than to produce a soft, #D model of their new product offering. Best of all people often keep a stress ball handy as an office mascot so your branding remains prominent

8. Confectionery

Everyone loves sweets and lollies or knows someone who does. A gift which appeals directly to the kid in all of us, promotional confectionery is the perfect low cost “thank you” gift. There are few better ways to leverage your investment in attending a convention or trade show than to hand out branded lollies at your stand. From salesmen hoping get a foot in the door, through to a small inexpensive giveaway to include with invoices which encourage prompt payment, custom branded bags of jelly beans and mints have an impact far beyond their cost.

9. Notepads

Combined with a pen there is no simpler or more widely used office item than a custom notepad. Sometimes, despite being surrounded by electronic equipment with the combined memory capacity or a public library the simple expedient of writing a quick note and leaving it in a prominent place is something no electronic device can replace. Custom printed notepads occupy a prime space on a desk and with a logo print on each page they move around the workplace with the messages they carry. There are few people in business who don’t reach for a notepad some time in each business day to scribble down a phone number or a reminder of some task that needs their attention when the time becomes available.

10. Key Chains

Key chains or “keyrings” as they are called in some regions of the Anglosphere are a practical item which have been utilised by promotional marketers for as long as promotional products have been produced. Not just a useful way to organise keys, a key chain is something people keep handy so your branding will always be kept close. In many ways the holy grail of promotional marketing is to provide people with a cost effective gift idea which will become a part of their daily activity and keyrings are a proven way to get your message into peoples’ hands for the long term.

There are hundreds of categories of promotional items. The ten listed above are in the opinion of the author then ten classic for which every marketer could potentially find a use. Tell us below what would make your list of all-time favourite promo products.

Business Politics Impacts – Cost of Employee Attrition

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StrategyDriven Business Politics Impacts Article | Employee AttritionThe staggering cost of employee turnover goes largely unrecognized. There is no financial statement line item, no general ledger entry, and no budget explicitly set aside for this expense that can cost evenly modestly sized companies well over a million dollars each year. Yet a significant portion of voluntary attrition is directly related to an abusive work environment created, in part, by excessive business politics. Thus, reduced workplace politics can directly improve the organization’s bottom line.

A company of 250 employees making an average of $43,000 per year experiencing a 20 percent attrition rate spends an estimated $2.15M on employee replacements annually.

Cost of Employee Attrition

The American Management Association estimates the cost of employee turnover as ranging from between 25 percent (for entry level employees) and 250 percent (for executive level employees) of the employees annual salary.1 These costs are derived from a multitude of sources including:

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Worried About Your Flaws? Turn Your Imperfections Into Unique Strengths

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article | Rob JollesAh, the joy of youth. Carefree and without worry – until we pursue our first real job. Then the anxiety about our age rears its ugly head for the first time. “Will clients have trouble responding to me because of my age? Will co-workers think my age makes me less qualified for the position I hold? If only I were a little older…” Although it seems hard to fathom, these sentiments were quite real when we were beginning our work lives.

Then, some years passed. One day, we woke up no longer concerned about how young we are, but how old we are. For many who are struggling professionally, age can become an obsession. As you walk into an important interview, you may find yourself thinking, “I just know they are going to want someone younger than me!” The irony is, if the person you’re meeting with wasn’t concerned about your age or any self-perceived flaw before, they are now. These imperfections are what I refer to as “a limp.” However, consider this:

“We all walk with a limp.”

There are a handful of biblical references to this phrase, but I’d like to provide my take on these six simple words. We all have our weaknesses, or some form of a limp. It’s what makes us human. Oddly enough, I have difficulty trusting anyone who appears not to have a limp. Maybe it’s because I believe that having a limp, and our ability to adjust to it, is what makes us extraordinary. Anyone without a limp is either an imposter or possesses no compassion for those who do have limps.

Your limp can be any physical or physiological imperfection you’d like to list. Sadly, we often let these limps hold us back. Notice I said, “We.” We are the ones who walk in the room troubled by what we view as a limp. We are the ones who convince ourselves that these limps are a problem for others, so we are the ones that make others concerned about them. But it just doesn’t have to be this way!

The Story of Jake

Let me tell you a story: We had a beautiful black Labrador retriever who was one of the greatest dogs I’ve ever owned. My boy Jake was a beauty. One day, we found Jake sitting by the door unable to move his back legs. He had mysteriously become paralyzed. The vet diagnosed a back injury, and he operated on Jake and did the best he could. After six months of rehab, my boy Jake could walk again. Oh, he didn’t quite walk the way his other friends did, but he had his own way of slowly getting up and swinging one leg behind the other. He even learned to run. Sure, he didn’t run like his other friends did, but he had figured out how to get up to speed, running with his front legs while he hopped with his back legs.

Sometimes when we had friends over, they would notice Jake and ask in a concerned tone, “Is your dog okay?” We’d smile and say, “He sure is.” You see, Jake walked with a limp, but he really didn’t care. The other dogs in the neighborhood didn’t care, and neither did we. Jake went on to live another ten years with his wonderful limp.

What’s Not Important to You… Becomes Less Important to Others

We all walk with a limp. It’s time to stop worrying about what the other person on the other side of the desk thinks about yours. One thing I can absolutely guarantee you: If it’s not important to you – and you reach peace with having a limp – it will dramatically decrease the impact your limp has on others. Too young, too old, too short, too tall, underqualified, overqualified, introverted, extroverted, physically or mentally challenged; it just doesn’t matter.

The people you are communicating with walk with their own limps. At the end of the day, they aren’t thinking about your limp, but they are concerned about your ability to live with it. Success requires humility, which is born from vulnerability. Walk tall, my friends, and make that limp part of the unique strengths you proudly offer the world.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article | Rob JollesRob Jolles is a sought-after speaker who teaches, entertains, and inspires audiences worldwide. His live programs in and around the world have enabled him to amass a client list of Fortune 500 companies including Toyota, Disney, GE, a dozen universities, and over 50 financial institutions. He is the best-selling author of six books, including his latest release, Why People Don’t Believe You… Building Credibility from the Inside Out. To learn more, visit Jolles.com.

Originally published by http://www.youngupstarts.com/2018/11/22/worried-about-your-flaws-turn-your-imperfections-into-unique-strengths/

How to Facilitate Retrospectives in Scrum-based Continuous Learning

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StrategyDriven Project Management Article | Scrum-based Continuous LearningFor the connoisseur of Agile project management, Scrum is undoubtedly shown up on your “To Do” list. First formulated as an Agile strategy to assist software development teams in pursuit of sustainable project initiatives, the method has since found roots in a number of cross-industry projects.

Now, for those relatively new to Agile, Scrum can be thought of as an empirically-oriented strategy of project management, delivering the highest-valued outcomes with a focus on fluid adaptation. It’s footprint is small; Scrum teams strive to reduce waste by organizing work in short bursts, typically two weeks in length. The method loves focus, commitment and introspection to influence adaptation.

To best pursue Scrum, a team has to use retrospectives. Retrospectives are a vital instrument that triggers actions and serves as the ideal launchpad to changing team behavior. Any team identifying Scrum as a strategy would be wise to consider how powerful retrospectives can change the face of their product outcomes with a self-aware and dynamic approach to project management.

So… what exactly is a retrospective?

For your Scrum team, a retrospective is conducted at the conclusion of an iteration. An iterations is a short project schedule, typically ranging between one and four weeks in length, with two weeks being ideal. Keeping iterations as short as possible is key to Scrum’s success; it’s all about avoiding dragging out poor performance strategies, which means minimizing the time they’re in use.

At the conclusion of these iteration cycles, teams are tasked with reflecting on observations during this time period. Specifically, teams are faced with a combination of hard data and anecdotes and asked to consider how well everyone worked together and what problems influenced their team and individual performance.

How do you hold an Agile retrospective?

The environment for the retrospective needs to feel like a safe, open discussion forum; it simply won’t work if team members don’t feel that there’s space to share what amounts to criticism. When looking to introduce the retrospective into your Agile/Scrum team, consider the five step method for conducting a retrospective:

1. Preparing Your Audience
2. Examining Team Data
3. Generate Powerful Insights
4. Create Workable Strategies
5. Work The Closer

Let’s delve further into each of these retrospective steps.

Preparing Your Audience

The retrospective meeting doesn’t have to take off at high speeds. Let your team warm up before diving into the substance of the meeting.

Throw out a question for the team and ask for a think/pair/share scheme; it’s a classic discussion method used by school teachers. Let your coworkers come up with their own answer to the question, which might be something like, “What’s one moment from this past iteration that sticks out as a true ‘lightbulb’ moment?”

They’ll then share with a partner, discuss together and bring to the bigger group. It’s a great way to gauge the room, gather further thoughts and navigate the direction of the retrospective.

Examining Team Data

There are a myriad of ways to structure a retrospective on data and produce hyper-efficient results, and there really isn’t any single perfect approach. With that said, let’s think about some general ways that can serve as launch points for obtaining data.

A common method to think about is the sailboat method. Think of it like this: the wind that pushes the boat ahead represents items in the data that assist the team in performing well. Anchors are pulling the team down, keeping them from forging onward in their pursuit. Organizing data into these columns, wind and anchors, will help the team think visually about what metrics can be pinpointed as an absolute success and what needs improvement.

Retrospectives also don’t have to be too quantitative in terms of the data points, or even discussing about areas of improvement. Consider a method called “Success Criteria”. This strategy centers around clearing up what the intentions are as a unit and targeting outcomes and results for success. You plan for the success of a goal, but you also try to prep by thinking ahead about what total and complete failure could look like. You list out your intentions in precise terms and what the target is for a project, and by considering the worst-case scenario, you’re able to minimize being caught off guard.

Generate Powerful Insights

After you’ve assembled your data, it’s time for the main event: the discussion. Get ready to bundle up problems, ideas and opportunities in a way where actionable measures can be taken.

An Affinity Map is a key Scrum retrospective technique for insights. Take one post-it with an idea and put it in a group; grab a second and decide if it belongs in the same group. Once the groups are formed, attach names to the groups and decide which post-its are most important, taking note of how big the clusters are and the overall themes of the notes.

Create Workable Strategies

In this final step, you’ll think get to move forward with actionables. Use the method of “Start, Stop and Continue” originally brought forward by Esther Derby and Diana Larsen.

Draw three sections (Start, Stop, and Continue), and place clusters from the Affinity Map in these headers. Give each person a dot to vote on most crucial items, and pick the ones with the most votes to make an actionable decision on. Reflect on feasibility and consider the short and long-term.

Work The Closer

It’s the end of the line! Closings can be underestimated and skipped over, but don’t fall for that. There are a ton of ways to close the meeting out that are forward-looking and positive, from sharing final reflections to ending on a powerful quote gathered during the retrospective itself.

Use the closer as an opportunity to garner self-reflective feedback. It’s a bit meta, but that’s the power of Agile and Scrum. It cuts through to serve as a focal point by which we can address all matters of progress within a forward-thinking environment.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Project Management Article | Scrum-based Continuous LearningAs chief evangelist, Lean-Agile strategy at Planview and former co-founder of LeanKit, Jon Terry helps enterprises around the globe discover how to increase effectiveness, optimize processes, and deliver value faster with Lean-Agile principles. Jon actively seeks to raise awareness of the benefits of Kanban and visual project management and is a highly sought-after presenter within the Lean-Agile community. In addition, Jon has been a leader in Agile transformations for some of the largest organizations in North America, including hospital-giant HCA Healthcare and its subsidiary, HealthTrust Purchasing Group. Jon earned his Global Executive MBA from Georgetown University and ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain.

Connect with Jon Terry – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonterry

How To Harness Experts In Your Business

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Business ExpertsWhen you want to run your business well, there are always going to be certain things that you will want to work on. Because we all know that if you’re wasting money or time, and you’re starting to struggle, it could just be a downwards slope from there. So, instead, you need to make sure that you’re working closer and closer to finding your success every single day. And that means that you need to take steps in the right direction. Towards efficiency and productivity. To knowledge and growth. To customer satisfaction and more sales. And in order to do that, you may find that it helps you to turn to experts. Sure, you might be an expert in something in particular. But it’s safe to say that you just cannot be an expert at everything. So let’s take a look at how you can harness other expertise to best benefit your business.

1. Get A Mentor

So first of all, you might like to think about getting yourself a mentor. Someone that you trust. Someone that has the experience and expertise that you admire. Someone that can guide you, but also hold you accountable. You may find that getting a mentor, alone, is the one thing that really pushes you forward.

2. Outsource To Experts

Another great idea is to try and outsource the areas of business you can, to experts too. If you know that you’re not an expert web designer or accountant, then why struggle to do these things yourself? When you outsource then, your business benefits from the expertise of the people and companies you hire.

3. Turn To The Best Companies

But then also, you’re going to want to make sure that you are looking out for the best possible companies when it comes to the work that you’re doing. If you need a supplier, if you need to repair your compressor, if you need to buy new equipment, always go to the best. It’s so easy to try to go by price, but this may mean that you don’t get the expertise!

4. Invite Experts In

Now, this one can sound a little strange, but the idea here is for you to invite certain experts into your business so that they are able to share their knowledge and thoughts with your employees. You all know that you need to work on your staff training and push your employees to help them progress, and bringing in experts to talk can help you with that. So see if you can book speaking and training gigs for the benefit of your company’s future.

5. Collaborate With Other Businesses

But then also, you can look to team up with other companies to really harness expertise too. Maybe you want to be able to push a promotion and harness a wider audience than what you already have? Then collaborating with other businesses can really help you here. But also, you can learn from what they do, and what they know, so this is only ever going to benefit your business and your future growth.